Transceiver with message notification

ABSTRACT

A transceiver, comprising an interface for receiving at least one message, a display unit provided to assume at least one switched-on operating state and at least one switched-off operating state, a message indicator indicating a receipt of a message by a unit of a signal, independent of the operating state of the display unit, wherein the message is associated with at least one message parameter, and a unit for evaluating the message parameter with the signal provided as a function of evaluation of the message parameter.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/696,904, filed Jan. 29, 2010; which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/363,625, filed Sep. 12, 2003; now U.S. Pat. No.7,684,789; which is a U.S.C. 371 national stage filing of InternationalApplication No. PCT/DE01/03304, filed Aug. 30, 2001; which claimspriority to German Patent Application No. 100 43 284.0-35 filed on Sep.2, 2000 in Germany The contents of the aforementioned applications arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile radio systems, for example mobile radio systems that functionaccording to the GSM standard (group special mobile), are designed toallow subscribers to the mobile radio network to send and receive shortmessages. One example of such a short message service is the so-calledSMS service (short message service). In typical mobile telephones, therecipient of a short message of this kind is notified of its arrival bya corresponding indication on the display of the telephone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The transceiver according to the invention has the advantage over theprior art that a user of the transceiver can be notified—withoutchanging the operating state of the display unit—that a message, forexample a short message, has arrived for him. This is particularlyadvantageous if the display unit is switched off or in a power-savingmode. To be precise, the display unit can remain switched off or in thepower-saving mode, but the user can still be notified that a message hasbeen received. This reduces the energy requirements of the transceiveraccording to the invention, thus yielding a longer battery life.According to the invention, the user can also be optically notified themoment the message is received. This means that the user does not haveto take any action, e.g. manipulating an actuating element of thetransceiver, to be informed as to the reception status of messages sentto him—i.e. whether there is a message for him and if so, how manymessages there are.

It is also advantageous that the message is associated with at least onemessage parameter, that the transceiver has means for evaluating themessage parameter, and that the signal is provided as a function of themessage parameter evaluation. This makes it possible to provide the userof the transceiver with information about the message parameter byvarying the signal, in particular by chronologically changing the signalintensity of the output signal.

It is also advantageous that the number of the at least one receivedmessage and/or the type of the at least one received message and/or thesender of the at least one received message is provided as the messageparameter. This makes it possible to provide the user of the transceiverwith information regarding the number, the type, and/or the sender ofthe at least one received message, depending on the definition of thesignal as a function of the message parameter(s).

It is also advantageous that the message indicator provides an outputsignal and that the signaling is provided by means of at least onepredetermined intensity or intensity change of the output signal. Thisallows the information about the message parameter, which is to betransmitted by means of the signal, to be communicated to the user in asimple manner.

It is also advantageous that the number of the at least one intensitychange corresponds to a multiple of the number of the at least onereceived message. This makes it possible, through simple means, tosupply the user with data regarding how many messages have been receivedand are present.

It is also advantageous that the output signal is an optical signal andthat the signaling is provided by means of a predetermined color orcolor change of the output signal. It is therefore possible to providethe user with more data regarding the message parameters or to relay thesame data content more reliably, i.e. in a more easily recognizable anddiscernible way.

It is also advantageous that the message indicator is a light-emittingdiode. This makes it possible, according to the invention, to transmitdata to the user by means of the message indicator using simple means,i.e. inexpensively and at a low manufacturing cost.

It is also advantageous that the message indicator (15) can communicatea piece of operating data by means of an additional signal. As a result,the message indicator can be used, at least in chronological succession,both to communicate the receipt of the message by means of the signaland to communicate the operating data of the transceiver by means of theadditional signal. Therefore in the transceiver according to theinvention, it is not necessary to provide a separate indicator for theone function as well as for the other function.

It is also advantageous that an additional message indicator cancommunicate a piece of operating data by means of an additional signal.This makes it possible to easily distinguish between the operating dataand the data that describe the message status.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings andwill be explained in detail the description that follows.

FIG. 1 shows a transceiver according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows the transceiver according to the invention, connected to amobile radio network,

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for the evaluation of a message parameter of areceived message, and

FIG. 4 shows an example of signaling a message parameter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Short message services, for example SMS service in a GSM mobile radionetwork (group speciale mobile), are enjoying ever greater distributionand acceptance despite their limitation to simple text messages andmaximal text lengths of 160 characters. If larger text messages need tobe sent, SMS, for example, offers the possibility of messageconcatenation, i.e. the total amount of the text to be sent is dividedinto a number of short messages. An appropriately specified mechanismprovides for proper reassembly in the receiver.

Another supplemental service that SMS uses for notification is so-calledunified messaging, a platform that combines fax, email, voicemail, etc.and offers a uniform access (usually via the Internet) to the data ofthese currently separate services. Here, too, the SMS messagesconstitute an important component, functioning as a notification fornewly received data. For this reason, the invention will be describedbelow by way of example in conjunction with SMS and SMS messages;however, it is not limited to being used exclusively with messages usingthe SMS standard.

The advantage of the short message service is that a message reaches thereceiver directly or, if the mobile terminal is not available, istemporarily stored and is automatically resent when the mobile terminalonce again becomes available. For this reason, in addition to thetransmission of normal text messages, this service is also used fornotification as a component of other services. One such supplementalservice—which uses SMS for notification, is an essential component ofmodern mobile radio systems, and will also be a part of future mobileradio networks—is voicemail, i.e. the possibility of leaving a voicemessage for an unavailable recipient in a memory, thus performing thefunction of an answering machine, for example. Voicemail is oneinstance, as a rule a central one, in the mobile radio network of anetwork provider, which—similar to local answering machines connected toa user's telephone jack in the fixed network—offers the possibility ofstoring voice messages for a user of the mobile radio network. This canbe the case if the person being called is unavailable at the time of thecall, for example due to a dead zone in the coverage area of the mobileradio network or because the person being called does not have hismobile telephone turned on. If a caller then leaves a message in avoicemail box, then as a rule, the recipient is notified by means of anSMS text message as to the arrival and number of these new voicemessages. As with every other SMS, this happens as soon as the mobileradio network reestablishes contact with the recipient's mobiletelephone. Of the two cases mentioned above, in the first case, thiswould happen when the recipient comes back into a region with sufficientnetwork coverage by his mobile radio network provider or in the secondcase, when the recipient reactivates his mobile telephone and thetelephone logs itself back onto the mobile radio network.

In some mobile telephones, when an SMS message is received, therecipient is notified by means of a corresponding indication on thedisplay unit of the telephone. However, many mobile telephones have thefeature of a display unit, which automatically switches off or switchesinto a power-saving mode if unused for a certain amount of time by theuser, to reduce the energy consumption of the mobile telephone in orderto increase battery life. The sooner the display turns off, the lessbattery power is consumed, i.e. the longer the mobile telephone can beoperated without having to recharge the battery. The display isreactivated, for example, by pressing the keypad of the mobiletelephone. This means that the display device is switched off most ofthe time because most users do not use their mobile telephones activelyfor long periods.

If the display is turned off, this means that a user must first activatethe display in order to check whether there are any messages, inparticular short messages, waiting for him. In order to do so, the usermust explicitly press or actuate a button or other actuating element onthe mobile telephone. When a message has arrived, it is often difficultor impossible to notify the user by means of an acoustic signal, forexample because the user has switched off the acoustic signaling due tothe presence of other people or for other reasons, or because the useris out of earshot of the mobile telephone due to distance or noise.

One feature of the invention is that newly received messages can also bedisplayed in a transceiver, in particular a mobile telephone,independently of the display unit. This permits the immediaterecognition of newly received messages even when a possible acousticsignal cannot be heard.

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a transceiver 1 according to the invention.The transceiver 1 is provided in the form of a mobile telephone, cellphone, etc., and according to the invention, particularly functions inaccordance with a standard for wireless communication, for example GSM,UMTS, or the like. According to the invention, the transceiver 1includes the display unit 16, which is also referred to as the display16. The transceiver 1 also includes a message indicator 15 and actuatingelements 35, for example buttons or the like. In particular, the messageindicator 15 is provided in the form of an LED (light emitting diode)and will therefore also be referred to below as the LED 15. According tothe invention, the LED 15 is in particular embodied as a multicolor LED15, i.e. the message indicator 15 can display several colors. Thispotentially broadens the data content of a signal that can be conveyedto the user by means of the message indicator 15. In one exemplaryembodiment, the LED 15 is embodied, for example, as a dual-color LED 15.

The actuating elements 35 are also referred to below as an input device35. According to the invention, the display unit 16 can assume variousoperating states, at least one switched-on or activated operating state,and one switched-off operating state or an operating state with reducedactivation (e.g. power-saving mode).

FIG. 2 shows the transceiver 1 connected to a mobile radio network 40.The transceiver 1 is connected to the mobile radio network 40 by meansof an air interface 45. A device 50 is also connected to the mobileradio network 40 in a wireless fashion or via wires; the device 50provides supplemental services in the mobile radio network 40, forexample a voicemail service. A communication terminal 60 is alsoconnected to the mobile radio network 40, as a rule by means of awireless interface that is not shown in detail. According to theinvention, the mobile radio network 40 particularly fimctions inaccordance with a standard for wireless communication, for example GSM,UMTS, or the like. According to the invention, the transceiver 1includes, as a means for evaluating message parameters, an evaluationunit 20, which is connected to the input device 35, a send/receivedevice 10, and the display unit 16. In addition, the transceiver 1 has amemory a 30 for storing data, for example short messages, which isconnected to the send/receive device 10.

In a GSM-compatible transceiver 1, the memory 30 is contained as a rulein an identification module, for example the SIM module (subscriberidentification module). If the SAT standard (SIM application toolkit) isincluded, then it is possible to combine the memory 30 and theevaluation unit 20 onto one SIM module 5. This possibility is indicatedin FIG. 2 by the fact that the dashed line of the SIM module 5encompasses the evaluation unit 20 and the memory 30.

The send/receive device 10 receives a short message from a mobile radionetwork 40 by means of the air interface 45, for example from thetelecommunication terminal 60, from a supplementary service operated inthe mobile radio network 40, or a device 50 required for thissupplementary service. The short message is processed in the transceiver1, i.e. is displayed on the display unit 16—if this is in a switched-onoperating state—and is stored in the memory 30. In addition, the messageis sent to the evaluation unit 20, which in the simplest case registersthe receipt of the message and displays or signals its arrival by meansof the message indicator 15.

The input device 35 can be used to input data for controlling theevaluation unit 20 and configuring it so that the display unit 16 and/orthe message indicator 15, for example, only display(s) selected shortmessages or so that different messages are displayed in different ways.One selection criterion, for example, is the telephone number of thesender, the type of message, the number of received messages, and/orwhether the user has already accessed the message, i.e. whether the userhas already listened to the message.

In the following exemplary embodiment, it has been assumed by way ofexample that the evaluation unit 20 functions using the sender'stelephone number as a selection criterion. The user can use the inputdevice 35 to configure the evaluation unit 20 in such a way that on theone hand, upon receipt of a short message that has been sent by thetelecommunication terminal 60, which is associated with a particulartelephone number—for example the number “0172/4999008”, the messageindicator 15 emits a signal, e.g. blinks, with a first color, and on theother hand, upon receipt of a short message as a notification regardingthe receipt of a voice message in a voicemail box, the message indicator15 emits a signal, e.g. blinks, with a second color.

The signal, which is embodied, for example, as a blink sequence, conveysinformation regarding the number of messages received, or regardingother message parameters. This is possible because it indicates thearrival or presence of for example three (e.g. unplayed) messages in thedevice SO that is embodied for example as a voicemail box, when themessage indicator 15 blinks three times in rapid succession in one ofits possible colors.

In order to illustrate the exemplary embodiment, FIG. 3 shows aflowchart. At a first program point 100, a short message is received andat a second program point 110, it is stored, particularly in the memory30. At a third program point 200, the received short message isevaluated in accordance with one or more message parameters; in theexemplary embodiment, the telephone number of the sender of the messagehas been selected as a message parameter. The example underconsideration includes the following cases by way of example: a firstcase labeled with the reference numeral 201, which exists when a messagehas been received from the telecommunication terminal 60 that isassociated, for example, with the telephone number “0172/4999008”; asecond case labeled with the reference numeral 204, which corresponds tothe arrival of a message from the device 50, i.e. for example avoicemail box; a third case labeled with the reference numeral 208,which encompasses all other situations. If it is determined at the thirdprogram point 200 that the first case 201 applies, then at a fourthprogram point 210, a first counter, not shown, is incremented and at afifth program point 220, the new state is displayed by the blinking ofthe LED 15 in the first color. If it is determined at the third programpoint 200 that the second case 204 applies, then at a sixth programpoint 260, a second counter, likewise not shown, is incremented and at aseventh program point 280, the new state is displayed by the blinking ofthe LED 15 in the second, e.g. other, color. If it is determined at thethird program point 200 that the third case 208 applies, then no furtheraction occurs.

The evaluation in the evaluation unit 20 is not limited to the telephonenumber of the sender. It can also relate to the text of the message orshort message, the type of message, the number of messages received, orthe like. For example, the presence or lack of the words “mailbox” or“e-mail” are used as selection criteria in order to determine the typeof message. Likewise, elements of the SMS header, i.e. the top part ofan SMS message, or of the SMS user data header can be used for theselection. In addition, it is also appropriate here to use specialuser-defined selection criteria, which make it possible to recognizeparticular notifications, i.e. particular messages, and to handle themin a particular manner, for example by having the message indicator 15emit a special signal or by storing certain messages differently thanother messages, for example storing them in the memory 30. It istherefore possible to recognize the receipt of e-mails via SMS throughthe recognition of particular header elements, which can also be used asselection criteria. In addition, the messages received can thus bestored in a sorted fashion, for example.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a message indicator 15 signal. In a graph ofthe intensity 310 of the output signal of the message indicator 15 overits chronological course 300, a blink sequence is shown, which ischaracterized by the fact that blinks occur three times with a firstchronological spacing 320. A single blink is produced by the fact thatthe intensity 310 of the output signal of the message indicator 15changes for example twice, i.e. the intensity 310 is adjusted from afirst value to a second value and—after a certain waiting period—isadjusted back to the first value in order to remain there for a certainadditional waiting period. The first chronological spacing 320corresponds to the time interval beginning with the intensity changefrom the first value of the intensity 310 to the second value of theintensity 310 and extending to the end of the additional waiting periodafter the readjustment of the intensity 310 of the output signal back tothe first value. The above-described sequence of three blinks—i.e. atotal of six changes in the intensity of the output signal—the number ofintensity changes corresponds to twice the number of receivedmessages—gives an example of how it is possible according to theinvention, to signal the receipt of three new messages. FIG. 4 shows twosuch blink sequences; a second chronological spacing 330 is providedbetween the blink sequences. The second chronological spacing 330 isprovided so that the user can differentiate or distinguish between theblink sequences, for example by virtue of the fact that the secondchronological spacing 330 is greater than the first chronologicalspacing. Other possibilities for embodying the message indicator 15signal are achieved by virtue of the fact that the intensity of theoutput signal of the message indicator 15 does not change in a binaryfashion as shown in FIG. 4—i.e. there are only two states—, but ratherthe signal can also be provided so that there are more than two discretevalues for the intensity 310 and so that the intensity change of theoutput signal from one of these discrete values to another of thesediscrete values sends the user information about a received message.

According to the invention, another embodiment includes the provision ofusing the message indicator 15 to send the user other data, inparticular operating data, in addition to the data regarding the statusof the message reception or the arrival of a message. In this case,operating data are understood in particular to include the charge stateof the battery, not shown, or accumulator, not shown, (battery status),data regarding the availability of the mobile radio network 40, or dataregarding whether or not the transceiver 1 is currently logged onto themobile radio network 40. It was already possible before now to conveysuch operating data to the user by means of an additional signalparticularly by using light emitting diodes. For information of acontent-related nature about messages, such as the number, type, or eventhe sender of messages among others, though, transceivers previouslyalways used the display unit, which resulted in the above-explaineddisadvantages, particularly the higher power consumption and the complexoperation of such transceivers.

It is in keeping with the invention to execute the additional signalingof operating data and the signaling of content-related information, i.e.regarding the receipt of messages for example, to the user bothseparately, i.e. using the message indicator 15 and an additionalmessage indicator not shown here—for example with two different lightemitting diodes—and jointly, i.e. using the message indicator 15 bothfor signaling the operating data and for signaling the status of themessage reception. In the second case, for example, the operating dataare signaled exclusively by means of a third color, while thecontent-related information is only signaled by means of the first andsecond color.

It need only be indicated as an exemplary embodiment here that atransceiver 1 according to the invention is equipped, for example, insuch a way that the LED 15 blinks with a relatively low frequency in ared color if the transceiver 1 is no longer receiving the regularsignals of the mobile radio network 40 or is only receiving them poorly,e.g. in the case of a dead zone in the coverage of the mobile radionetwork 40. In this exemplary embodiment, if the battery is almost dead,then the LED 15 blinks with a high frequency and likewise in the redcolor, independent of whether the transceiver 1 has reception or not. Ifthe transceiver 1 is logged onto the network and is also still receivingthe regular signals of the mobile radio network, then the LED 15 blinkswith a relatively low frequency in the green color. In this exemplaryembodiment, the user therefore can always see whether the transceiver 1has reception and whether the battery urgently needs to be charged—andthis, independent of whether the display unit is switched on, switchedoff, or in a power-saving mode. In order to signal the receipt of themessage, in this case, the invention includes the provision that thelight emitting diode blinks in a blue color, for example.

On the other hand, however, it is also in keeping with the invention notto provide an additional color of the LED 15 for signaling the receiptof a message, but merely to provide a different blink signal than thelow frequency blinking in the green color, which occurs in the exemplaryembodiment under consideration when the transceiver 1 both has contactwith the mobile radio network and also has sufficient energy reserves.This assures that the user always knows whether or not the transceiver 1is logged onto the mobile radio network 40. For example, if there arenow three new messages, then the LED 15 blinks three times with achronological spacing of the blink signal, which corresponds to thefirst spacing 320. This is selected so that an average blink frequencybetween the two low frequency blinks is set to signal a proper networkconnection on the one hand and that of the high frequency blinks is setto signal an insufficient charge of the battery on the other hand. Thenthe LED 15 executes a long pause before it blinks again three times inthe average blink frequency. The duration of the long pause here shouldbe at least as long as the chronological spacings of the blink signal ofthe low frequency blinking.

1.-9. (canceled)
 10. A method for indicating message parameters in amobile phone, comprising: identifying a message pattern by evaluating atleast one message parameter of at least one received message, wherein amessage indicator signal is assigned to each message pattern; andoutputting the message indicator signal being assigned to the identifiedmessage pattern.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein theoutputting of the message indicator signal is performed by a messageindicator being comprised by the mobile phone.
 12. The method accordingto claim 11, wherein the message indicator comprises a light emittingdiode.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the messageindicator signal comprises blinking according to at least one of apredetermined frequency, number, color and chronological spacing betweenblink signals.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein a singleblink is performed by adjusting an intensity of the light emitting diodefrom a first value to a second value and after a certain waiting periodadjusting the light emitting diode back to the first value.
 15. Themethod according to claim 11, wherein the message indicator is operatedindependently of an operating state of a display.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the evaluation is performed by anevaluation unit being encompassed by a subscriber identity module. 17.The method according to claim 10, wherein the message parameter is atleast one of an originating number of the received message, a number ofreceived messages, a type of the received message and an availability ofa mobile radio network.
 18. The method according to claim 17, whereinthe type of the received message is one of email, voicemail and SMS. 19.The method according to claim 10, wherein the mobile phone isconnectively coupled with a mobile radio network being operatedaccording to one of the GSM and UMTS standards.
 20. The method accordingto claim 10, wherein supplemental services in the mobile radio networkare provided to the mobile phone by a network device.
 21. A mobile phonewith means for indicating message parameters, comprising: a transceiverincluding an evaluation unit adapted to perform an algorithm foridentifying a message pattern by evaluating at least one messageparameter of at least one received message, wherein a message indicatorsignal is assigned to each message pattern; and a message indicator foroutputting the message indicator signal being assigned to the identifiedmessage pattern.
 22. The mobile phone according to claim 21, wherein theevaluation unit is combined with a memory on a removable subscriberidentification module.